Weightlifting for Girls
If you were to think of two sports that helped develop both flexibility and strength, you would no doubt think of gymnastics straight away. But did you know that of all the Olympic athletes, weightlifters are the second most flexible after the gymnasts?
What do gymnasts do once they hit puberty and potentially outgrow the sport? How about weightlifting? I recently visited the Welsh National Coach, Ray Williams, who was a competitive gymnast before he took up weightlifting. He went on to win a Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games. Zoe Smith, an English Weightlifter at the current Commonwealth Games, also started her sporting career as a gymnast.
Whilst gymnastics is a very popular sport for younger girls, weightlifting is becoming more popular with teenage girls. In a recent Sport England survey, Weightlifting was one of only four sports to increase its participation numbers, and the biggest growth area was among teenage girls.
Part of the appeal is that it doesn’t involve chasing a ball around a pitch or competing directly against someone else. Instead, the competition is with the bar and the weight. Progress is easily measured and can be done safely with good coaching.
Unfortunately, the public still confuses the sport with bodybuilding and often has a negative perception about training to get bigger. Because weightlifting competitions take place in weight categories, there is a benefit to being as strong as you can without getting bigger!
Another misconception is that weightlifting is harmful to teenagers. If the technique is good and the session is coached by a qualified coach, then Weightlifting has one of the fewest injury rates in sport. Doing nothing is much more harmful to teenagers!
In our first ever club competition we had two girls compete. One was a hockey player, and the other was a Modern Pentathlete. It was good to see them giving the boys a run for their money. Both saw the benefit of being faster and stronger than their opponents.
Here are their views on weightlifting and how it helps them.
Five years on, half of our lifters are female, and three of our five coaches are female. It has taken time to educate and encourage girls to lift weights. Those that train enjoy the feeling of being fit, the technical challenge, and the sense of achievement when they get new totals.
What is weightlifting?
Weightlifting consists of two lifts. The Snatch, where you lift the bar from the floor directly above your head, and the Clean and Jerk, where the bar is lifted to the shoulders and then above your head. The Snatch is a faster lift and requires great flexibility of the shoulders and hips. I use this with swimmers, golfers, and throwers I coach.
The clean and jerk allows you to lift more weight and is good for people who want to accelerate fast and jump further. I use this with many different sports people, including hockey, football, and rugby players, as well as our sprinters.
Where to start?
The most important thing is to be safe. The second most important is to have fun. A licensed weightlifting coach at a recognized club will be the best place to start. The worst thing to do is to listen to the ‘man down the gym’ who likes to mansplain everything to females.
Look for a club that has female lifters (almost all do), and that welcomes the recreational lifter as well as those wishing to compete. You should never be forced to do too much, too early. They should have female bars (15kg) and junior bars (10kg) to allow you to lift appropriately. You should never train with the 20kg bar: the grip is too wide, and it is too heavy for beginners ( I start the boys off with 10kg/ 15kg bars too).
Your early training sessions may include bodyweight and dumbbell exercises as well as technical drills on the barbell. The coach will be preparing your body for the demands of weightlifting. The good news is that these preparation exercises are helping you get faster, stronger, mobile, and more coordinated. These qualities transfer to other sports.
You can see one of the warm-ups we use here:
Be patient if you don’t get the hang of the exercises straight away: they take many years to master. But, you can get improvements quickly if you let the technique dictate the loads. Don’t chase totals; look to improve your technique. You will be safe that way. The results will then come.
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Weightlifting for Girls
If you were to think of two sports that helped develop both flexibility and strength, you would no doubt think of gymnastics straight away. But did you know that of all the Olympic athletes, weightlifters are the second most flexible after the gymnasts?
What do gymnasts do once they hit puberty and potentially outgrow the sport? How about weightlifting? I recently visited the Welsh National Coach, Ray Williams, who was a competitive gymnast before he took up weightlifting. He went on to win a Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games. Zoe Smith, an English Weightlifter at the current Commonwealth Games, also started her sporting career as a gymnast.
Whilst gymnastics is a very popular sport for younger girls, weightlifting is becoming more popular with teenage girls. In a recent Sport England survey, Weightlifting was one of only four sports to increase its participation numbers, and the biggest growth area was among teenage girls.
Part of the appeal is that it doesn’t involve chasing a ball around a pitch or competing directly against someone else. Instead, the competition is with the bar and the weight. Progress is easily measured and can be done safely with good coaching.
Unfortunately, the public still confuses the sport with bodybuilding and often has a negative perception about training to get bigger. Because weightlifting competitions take place in weight categories, there is a benefit to being as strong as you can without getting bigger!
Another misconception is that weightlifting is harmful to teenagers. If the technique is good and the session is coached by a qualified coach, then Weightlifting has one of the fewest injury rates in sport. Doing nothing is much more harmful to teenagers!
In our first ever club competition we had two girls compete. One was a hockey player, and the other was a Modern Pentathlete. It was good to see them giving the boys a run for their money. Both saw the benefit of being faster and stronger than their opponents.
Here are their views on weightlifting and how it helps them.
Five years on, half of our lifters are female, and three of our five coaches are female. It has taken time to educate and encourage girls to lift weights. Those that train enjoy the feeling of being fit, the technical challenge, and the sense of achievement when they get new totals.
What is weightlifting?
Weightlifting consists of two lifts. The Snatch, where you lift the bar from the floor directly above your head, and the Clean and Jerk, where the bar is lifted to the shoulders and then above your head. The Snatch is a faster lift and requires great flexibility of the shoulders and hips. I use this with swimmers, golfers, and throwers I coach.
The clean and jerk allows you to lift more weight and is good for people who want to accelerate fast and jump further. I use this with many different sports people, including hockey, football, and rugby players, as well as our sprinters.
Where to start?
The most important thing is to be safe. The second most important is to have fun. A licensed weightlifting coach at a recognized club will be the best place to start. The worst thing to do is to listen to the ‘man down the gym’ who likes to mansplain everything to females.
Look for a club that has female lifters (almost all do), and that welcomes the recreational lifter as well as those wishing to compete. You should never be forced to do too much, too early. They should have female bars (15kg) and junior bars (10kg) to allow you to lift appropriately. You should never train with the 20kg bar: the grip is too wide, and it is too heavy for beginners ( I start the boys off with 10kg/ 15kg bars too).
Your early training sessions may include bodyweight and dumbbell exercises as well as technical drills on the barbell. The coach will be preparing your body for the demands of weightlifting. The good news is that these preparation exercises are helping you get faster, stronger, mobile, and more coordinated. These qualities transfer to other sports.
You can see one of the warm-ups we use here:
Be patient if you don’t get the hang of the exercises straight away: they take many years to master. But, you can get improvements quickly if you let the technique dictate the loads. Don’t chase totals; look to improve your technique. You will be safe that way. The results will then come.